Sunday, December 7, 2014

The tale of the Inca Babies 2007 resurrection continues in splendour with The Stereo Plan, the third installment of their Death Blues trilogy that began with Death Message Blues (Black Lagoon, 2010) and Deep Dark Blue (Black Lagoon, 2012).

While Death Message Blues was an album heavily reminiscent of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, as Inca Babies came to terms with the very sad passing of bassist Bill Bonney (AKA: Bill Marten), this influence is much less apparent here. Similarly, the band have long since moved on from the very heavy influence of The Birthday Party that was so often remarked upon with their earlier releases back in the 80s like Rumble (Black Lagoon, 1984) or the brilliant This Train... (Black Lagoon, 1986).

What does remain however, is the band's obvious love for the psycho-billy style, somewhat like The Cramps but without the undergraduate innuendo, and the slow psychedelic surf-rock of guitarists like Link Wray,making this a quite brilliant road-trip album.

Unlike certain other reanimated "goth" groups from the 80's we could mention here, the production is sleek and there is little filler to be found. The Stereo Plan is a genuinely well-rounded album consisting of great songs, giving lie to the idea that old dogs can't learn new tricks and should be put down to die.

With 14 new songs, there's very much here to like. We open with the title track "The Stereo Plan", a tale of trying to recover one's youth by drowning in your own musical past, an experience I suspect most music followers of a certain age can relate to. This is followed by "Scatter", a wonderfully strong track that when trying to program the October edition of Behind the Mirror was simply a no-brainer to play.

Scatter
It doesn't stop there though. We also have the wonderfully catchy "Feast With Panthers", reportedly the next single release and "Absolute Leader of the World", but for me the standout must be "Stand Down Lucifer", a wonderfully aggressive track and easily up to going into the cage match with old favourites like "Daniella" or "Correction Stack".

Absolute Leader of the World

The crew of the "Hulme Cramps" are clearly still up for going into battle, and "The Stereo Plan" does little to disappoint. If you're lucky enough to be in the right parts of the world, the band apparently have extensive touring plans for next year.

Now, what price a single of "Stand Down Lucifer" with a remix of "Splatter Ballistics Cop" as a B Side?

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Sorry things have been so quiet around here of late, but I've been terribly busy with other things. Life and stuff you know... Hopefully things will calm down in the new year, when I plan on completely re-booting the site to take on a much wider scope to accommodate the many exciting newer bands who have emerged in the last few years.

In the meanwhile, Plunder the Tombs is proud to bring you an in depth interview with Patrik Mata where he talks about Kommunity FK's past, side projects and their forthcoming album "Thee Image and Thee Myth".

JVS:Congratulations on 35 years Patrik! It’s a very long career
and must easily make Kommunity FK one of the longest lived Deathrock / Goth
bands on the planet. You must be very excited?

PATRIK:I am but also it’s not that I’m excited about still
being here &

now composing & producing music which has become the KFK
signature sound, it’s really just ‘business as usual’. I am not doing ‘it’,
‘it’ is doing me. This has been ongoing ever since I founded KFK back in 1978.
It all began during a very melancholy period ov my life. & as many others
have fallen to the wayside, I’m still here…..We will not fall.

"We Will Not Fall" from The Vision and The Voice (Independent Project Records, 1983) These music files take a few seconds to load, be patient my pretties...

JVS:Of course, the band was originally called Kommunity Fuck,
and was a reflection on how the whole live music industry in LA was
rigged at the time. The early days of the band with getting gigs and an album
deal can’t have been easy?

PATRIK:I named my band “Kommunity Fuck” due to the oppression received for becoming scapegoated for being different in
so many aspects in comparison to what was happening in Hollywood at that time.
“Punk” was still a trend in the clubs & I had other ideas as to how I
wanted my own band to sound & as to how I fashioned myself as well. Bowie
was my main man & I was majorly influenced by his method ov reinvention
& experimentation. I was very inspired by The DaDaists, William S.
Burroughs, Throbbing Gristle, & many other obscure UK bands while a lot ov
the L.A. musicians were stuck into what they considered ‘punk rock’. I was so
bored with that. I knew that what I wanted to create was on point. But by the time I had
formed a three piece experimental band & we were ready to attack the local
clubs, the venue bookers refused to book us. Rumors, lies, & stories they
made up began circulating throughout Hollywood about us & we began to
become slagged off in local fanzines & by local punks & scenesters. So
I became more confrontational in live performances in an aggressive way. The
L.A. Weekly named us “L.A.’s most loved & hated band” in their “Best Of
L.A.” issue. I then realized & knew that KFK had indeed had an effect &
had left an impression on those adversaries trying to stop us from
continuing as a new band. So I named the band The Kommunity Fuck. Their
beautiful dark little scapegoat. We were never looking to score any kind ov
‘record deal’. That happened strictly by accident. After having become
considered a somewhat controversial band, probably due to the fact that we
refused to take any shite from anyone whom threw it at us, & for becoming
better at our instruments as time progressed, plus being a band with its own
identity & unique sound. A person named Bruce Licher came up to us saying
that he wanted to release our music on his label, Independent Project Records.
We liked his approach coming from an understanding towards our ‘anti-art method’ so we
agreed. We pressed our debut lp, “The Vision & The Voice’ in a limited
edition ov only 1000 copies on vinyl. What a beautiful packaging job he allowed
us, too. I designed the lp cover anti-art with our own usage ov a very original
memorable font which I still apply to our official work to this day. When you see
our original logo, you see our antiquated font leftover from the OG days ov
KFK. Record was released in 1983.

Portrait of the artist as a young man:

Patrik onstage in 1980

JVS:Your debut album Vision and the Voice is of course one of the seminal albums of the LA Deathrock scene. I understand the
re-issue through Cleopatra Records was unauthorized. I would think that as an
artist, having an unauthorized version of your album in circulation with the
track listing changed around and your own cover art removed must be very
irritating. What was going on there and how did you feel about that?

PATRIK: I was stunned at first. The label had asked me to
reissue the classic lp on CD which would be for it’s very first time but I did
not expect it to be rearranged in such a fashion. I created the original
anti-art cover for “The Vision & The Voice” as a collage applying my
favorite format; scissors, paper, & glue. I named that piece, “Kommunity Fuck”.
It has never ever been featured in any book about album covers in any manner.
It has never been shared with the rest ov this world in any form. So the only
way that anybody would ever even see it would be if you bought the vinyl lp.
The lp was pressed in a limited edition ov 1000 copies by a label called
Independent Project Records in 1983. When Cleopatra approached me to reissue it
for it’s very first time on CD format, I expected the original cover anti-art
work plus reproductions ov it’s inner sleeve pix, et al but I realized that
they were afraid ov being sued for its risqué prurient beauty or something as
such so they had some hack create that very shite cover. Their idea ov changing
the original tracking order had nothing to do with me.

Before and after: Patrik's original cover art for

"Vision and the Voice" and the Cleopatra reissue.

JVS:After the second
album Close One Sad Eye in 1985, KFK seemed to go very quiet. What happened?

PATRIK: I was becoming very frustrated with everything &
everybody

around me within the KFK kamp which I had created. I had formed
that band & I chose the band members to continue forward with my Destiny,
the continuation ov KFK. By “Close One Sad Eye” I had discovered cocaine as well
as a driving creative force but real pure cocaine & by experimenting with
its attributes towards creating new music & new anti-art I became very
enamoured with its effects. I felt as if I could do anything that I dreamt but
as every fable told about its seduction, I, too, went beyond its wondrous demimonde
therefore became stuck. I never ever smoked it, though, being a vocalist who
prizes his Gift but I finally got sick ov using it as it began using me. I met
The Ugly Spirit, too. After being face-to-face with it, I became disgusted & decided to reflect as to who I really am. So I
left my own band & left everything, everybody behind who still desired to
remain ‘stuck’. I needed to reinvent my Self all over again in order to survive
as an Artiste & as a composer/musician but this would take some time. I had
other dreams within me inspiring me, my Muse became another Being & I
needed to go with it. So I did. I then roamed another part ov Hollywood
searching for unknown musicians to throw my new ideas against. This would be
the only way. I had always found unknowns to begin new projects which brings
fresh ideas especially unknowns whom aren’t infatuated with being ‘trendy
twats’ imitating their favourite rock stars or Goth stars as many still do. So
I did exactly that & formed another more diverse band that I called,
“Sativa Luvbox”.

JVS:Close One Sad Eye
has been out of print for a while now. I notice there’s a CD version on for
sale on Amazon.com today for something silly like $830. Are you planning on
re-releasing it?

PATRIK:NO.

JVS:Then maybe tell us more about Sativa Luvbox?

PATRIK:That band was entirely & completely different than
KFK in every way. I wanted to swerve away from what I had done before, what I
was renowned for, what I was becoming categorized with & what I was becoming
‘stuck inside’ ov. You see, if you don’t remain in a State ov Becoming, you die.
I needed to change. “The present day composer refuses to die”-Edgar Varese

It, too, was a 3 piece as when I founded KFK. I played guitar
& sang lead vocals with a bassist & a very unique drummer/percussonist
added new spices to the new sound. This time there were no synthesizers. I was becoming
influenced by psychedelia, 60s biker films & their soundtracks, & even
the way the movie bikers fashioned themselves. This band went onward into the
early 90s & even accidentally became signed to a shite major label, MCA.
But before that unforeseen occurrence the band produced a DIY lp which I
entitled, “The Bad Sleep Well”. It has never ever been officially released & is a collector’s item to this precise moment. I
like that lp for its originality & I was composing songs from a new
wilderness, a desperate wilderness, searching for a New Way. I disbanded that
band when it became stale & pointless, losing its Magick.

Cover art for "The Bad Sleep Well", once again designed by Patrik

JVS:That brings us to 2010 and Kommunity FK suddenly roars back
to life after years of silence with the spectacular La Santisima Muerte album. What
brought that about after so long?

PATRIK:You must realize that I have never been in a state ov Silence.
I have always created my own music constantly. I just have never had the opportunity
to release any ov this music like many other fortunate lucky bastards. I find
this a sin.

I will share with you something that I experienced which almost
made me take my own Life a few years back. I had just returned from another DIY
West Coast tour in 2006 when I was listening to my messages on my phone machine.
It was from a personage whom many consider a ‘musical icon’ who had his own
record label & he wanted to sign me to it. I was also under his charming
influence thinking that because ov his certain accomplishments that maybe it would be a great opportunity for me to further my
musical career by entrusting in him, & by indeed signing with him. But he
wanted me for 5 years while I only wanted to sign to a one off, a one year deal
to see where we would be at that time then see where we both wanted to go from
there.

But then he insisted on a 7 year contract in order to “be able
to really push you, Patrik”. So, being charmed & under his spell, I went ahead
& signed with him & his label. After the first 3 years ov nothing even
being considered recorded for any type ov official label release, I began to
become agitated & anxious as to what the fk was going on. Would we ever
make records? I was being led on & on being told all sorts ov promises that
I later realized was just him putting me off & after believing lie after
lie, I had become terribly depressed. For the last 7 years he never recorded,
released, nor put me on tour. I had to find an attorney to get me out ov this
horrid terrible lie to continue producing my own music already having lost so
much momentum from touring back in 2006. I lost my band members as three years went
by & we were waiting to actually record, release, & tour together.
Which never happened. It was just recently a few months ago that I was freed
from that shite corrupted contract & now we see ourselves with an
incredible new band line up ready to begin full force producing new music &
to tour the world. If everything had occurred as promised, who knows where KFK would
be at this precise moment?

For the first 3 years, though, without anything being done as
contractually promised, I had to search for an endorsement to produce any ov my
own music & to go back on another DIY tour to survive as an artist keeping
the KFK band name out there. I was finally graciously granted an endorsement from
a company who sent me everything that I would need to record, mix, & produce
as many lps as I so desired. So I built my very own in-house recording studio
that I have named, “Vision & The Voice Studios”, named in tribute to my debut KFK lp ov the same name. That’s where “La
Santisima Muerte” was created. At the time I was ’signed’, I did have a full
band awaiting to record & to tour with me. But after the first 3 years ov Nothingness,
they became fed up & left me. Thank the gods that Sherry Rubber has been by
my side to be my only other band member since 1996 as well as also being
another multi-instrumentalist in her own write, as myself, & we both performed
all ov the instruments & voices while I programmed the drums for that lp.
We made that lp together & both are very proud ov it. That lp had us
headline the WGT Festival in Leipzig, Germany in 2010. We produced our own backing trax as well in full bang on stereo as
we had only ourselves to perform live with & so we did, which was very
brave. I’ll never ever forget the experience. I owe Sherry as well for her
assistance, patience, & professionalism as she is an amazing musician,
composer, & performer.

JVS:For a band heavily
reliant on keyboards, three decades is a long time in terms of technology. How have advances in synthesisers,
sequencers and what have you changed the way Kommunity FK approaches creating music?

PATRIK:I have been blessed with endorsements from both MOOG
& Dave Smith Instruments (DSI) whom have both given me 1 synthesizer a
piece. I now am the proud owner ov MOOG’s Little Phatty Stage & DSI’s MoPho
4 synth. I use them constantly on as many compositions as deemed necessary. I have
not used them in a sequencer application yet, though. I love applying them as
being played in which they were designed, like a keyboard. When I recorded KFK’s debut lp, “The Vision & The Voice” we had a
Prophet 5 synthesizer which hardly anyone had at that time except funk bands
like Parliament, Funkedelic & Wall Of Voodoo. But the way that we applied the Prophet 5 was to just dial in any noise that fits by
blindly turning knobs & creating soundscapes on which the band performed over.
We would stick match books between the keys to let the synth drone underneath. Nobody
was doing this in 1978-1984. Not until they saw KFK perform live, at least. I
love synthesizers to this precise moment & create compositions using them
all the time.

Patrik on keyboards, 2014

I have composed a brand new lp entitled, “The Image & The
Myth” which is not released as ov yet & it features a few electronic songs
on it. But maybe not what you would most probably expect as ‘electronic’ music.
But one song is entirely electronic entitled “Dumb FK” & I love this song
to death. When composing, it depends on how I am inspired to create a song in
its naked form. For instance, on the 2010 lp, “La Santisima Muerte” there’s a song
entitled, “Let The Right One In’ inspired after watching that incredible Swedish
vampire film ov the same name. I was so inspired that I went into the studio,
picked up my bass, & composed the bass line in one take. Then the film’s
title began to expand into a more meditative flow ov consciousness inspiration where it starts to be very philosophical advice to
myself. Think about it. I then added drums & guitars then sang over the
basic track. I added the synth line after I had finished the vocal. The chorus
came to me the next day where I overdubbed it in one take. I then asked Sherry
to react without ever hearing the track. Ever. Her guitars are reacting in a
‘question/answer’ sort ov way & I put one ov her guitars through a Leslie
to differentiate it from her first guitar line. I luv what she played so much.
She hates not knowing or not rehearsing her guitar parts before she lays them
down but I coerced her to

try it anyway & it came out amazingly. Magickal.

"Let the Right One in" from La Santisima Muerte (Kommunity PM, 2010)

JVS:Some KFK songs like
“Restrictions” seem to be based in social commentary, while other material like Vision and the Voice is
clearly a reference to Aleister Crowley, and La Santisima Muerte a
reference to a Latino death cult. What is the underlying philosophy to KFK’s
material?

PATRIK:Do what thou wilt shall be the whole ov the Law. Be your
True Self. I read a lot. Therefore a lot ov what I find inspiration from comes
also from a very literary sensibility, one ov my many frames ov references. Sometimes
I read at least 6 books at once. When I become bored with one I pick up another
book then become bored with it & pick up another one. & so on. So these
inspirations seep into my subconscious mind ending up in song lyrics & lp
titles. I adore Crowley’s work which is fathomless. His being so intimidating
to his era’s society & intellectuals ov his time it is no wonder why he was
considered an shocking evil bastard but when you really submerge yourself into
his work there are so many positive ideas & his use ov yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, drug experimentation,
infatuation with the Other World, etc. simply fascinates me. I have so many ov
his books & refer to them periodically on a daily basis. I am also
fascinated with the idea ov death cults, witch cults, religious cults, cults,
cults, cults. Those ov whom like to lead others sometimes have other hidden
agendas. What we do is secret. Fascinating. William S. Burroughs is one ov my
other literary gangster heroes.

JVS:What has been your best, worst, and funniest experiences on
the road?

PATRIK:I recently have had some terrible experiences that had
to deal with a certain personage that I allowed into both ov Sherry & my
bands. Both bands tour together where Texylvania opens for KFK. Since both
bands consist ov the same band members we are blessed to be able to perform
twice every night performing 2 types ov genres ov music which we all luv. Now
think about this; there are four personages within these bands therefore four
million reasons why it should not work. But it does until one person becomes a complete
asshole for no reason. A person who does not appreciate the fact that he has not had to pay for a fking thing as our contractual
demands are met respectively. All he has to do is love what he is doing &
love the experiences & be cool with everybody. Have fun, for fucks sake. We
are living a Dream but this person turns it into a fking nightmare when you
least expect it & sometimes before you have to hit the stage as a
headliner. Backstage is supposed to be one ov the most exciting times ov your
life as you prepare to walk onstage to perform for your awaiting fans who have
paid to see you. But sometimes someone has to be a total cunt which you try to hold back your emotions from dealing with, the emotions which
you have been holding back until the moment the very first song needs from you
when its first notes are struck. Fortunately, now, this has been dealt with
sparingly & now everything is as it should be. I can’t wait to begin
touring again over in Europe in 2015 with this more professional line up.

There
have been many great amazing experiences, though, in my Past. If you go to the
official KFK website (http://www.kommunityfk.com/) there’s a long list ov bands that I have had the honour & blessing to
perform second billing to. Opening for Killing Joke on their very first USA
tour in Hollywood, California at The Whiskey A Go-Go on August 28th, 1981 was
my first ‘big gig’. Apparently, I’ve been told, that KJ never allow any sound
checks for their support bands but during this time we did have our sound check.
They stood upstairs looking down at us & Big Paul Ferguson, their original drummer,
was the first to come up to us & tell us how much he loved the band. After
our 2 sets, as in those days bands had to perform twice on the night, KJ
invited us over to their hotel rooms at the famous Tropicana hotel to hang out
& chat. So, ov course, we did. They had all ov their hotel room doors open
for us so we could saunter in to chat with each ov them. They were all wearing
Freemason pins on their lapels, I remember. I was

impressed. They spoke about Crowley as well. Anyway, Big Paul
handed me a huge 16th ov red Nepalese hashish as a sign ov respect! I’ll never
forget that show. They were outstanding people.

"Dreamz For a Better World" from the forthcoming album Thee Image and Thee Myth

Every Batcave band that came over touring through Los Angeles on
their first wave asked for Kommunity FK to second to them. No shite. Fact. This
was how we became well known Internationally as well. Word ov mouth. When touring
with Sex Gang Children twice, we shared our own back line with them. We shared
drugs with them. When we hit San Fransisco I personally took Andi Sexgang on a
tour ov North Beach as we were playing together at The Mabuhay Gardens. A band
called Faith No More was on bottom support.

I took Andi to the famous beat poet book store called City
Lights Bookstore. He was fascinated with it’s rich history. When supporting PIL
in San Diego at the California Opera House we had 2 backstage dressing rooms
& a coke dealer in each one. When I saw John Lydon walking around searching
for his dressing room I invited him in for a sniff but he declined with, “Never
before a gig, mate!”. He had 2 bottles ov Heineken in each hand & seemed
happy. When we were doing our sound check, he came up onstage to become introduced to us. He was a lovely guy. Probably still is.

We
also supported The Jesus & Mary Chain on their very first USA tour. In San
Diego at UCSD, we were all shocked to find out that it was a ‘dry campus’ which
meant that there was no alcohol whatsoever allowed, even backstage! So all being
decent drinkers I had to think ov something so I sent our road crew whom were
all dressed as droogys from ‘A Clockwork Orange” out with our tour van to go
buy some booze for everyone. I also didn’t know until after the show that they
were all on LSD but soon realized this when I witnessed the one driving, who went by the moniker as Big Ed, was driving
backwards very fast across the campus lawn area near our building where we had
our concert being held. He did return with some Guinnesses which saved the night
until I was being led to the sold out concert arena holding a can in one hand
& a joint in the other as a campus security guard approached me to possibly
arrest me. Thank the gods that my road manager was also with me &
took the vices from my hand & told me to run onstage immediately. As I
entered the concert hall I saw so many happy crazed fans in front ov me &
the night was a total success for all involved. So many experiences to share,
so little time!

You should hear the one about when we almost supported Bauhaus
on their last tour in 1983 at The Roxy Theatre in Hollywood. But perhaps
another time….

JVS: In the meanwhile, I notice yourself and Sherry have started
up a side project in the psychobilly vein called Texylvania. I can’t claim to
have heard any material, but it does sound like fun. What inspired this?

PATRIK:Here’s the condensed version…We both love punk rock, especially bands like The Sex Pistols, Discharge, Cockney
Rejects, besides more darker music. When I first ever set eyes on Sherry Rubber
she was rehearsing at a studio which I managed in Hollywood as she & her
band called RUBBER were headlining The Whiskey A Go-Go. Her band was an all
grrl 3 piece ferocious hardcore punk rock outfit tight as fk from Seattle, Washington.
When I saw them perform I was so blown away that I was a huge fan immediately.
Time passed then I saw her again as she came back to Hollywood just to visit
me. I was soon piggy backed to Seattle to hang out with her. I saw her perform
in her own environment & her gigs were explosive. Later we fell in love
& we have been together now for 20 years. As KFK was a delicate concept we
both desired to play punk rock as well just for fun, just to get our punk rock fix. So we first founded a
band that we named, The Legendary Wrong People. It was a sort ov ‘first stage’
version ov what Texylvania has become to this day. We recorded several demos
with that band but we wanted to take it further. So we decided to add blood
play onstage while living in Seattle as there weren’t any bands doing this sort
ov performance anti-art up there. We found some other sickos whom wanted to dance
onstage with us, very sick crazy looking grrls, & they were The Texettes.
We had to cover our stages with plastic tarps so as not to fk up venue stages
& we kicked total ass. We headlined every gig that we were booked. We began
to create a huge following wherever we performed. But we then had to leave
Seattle due to Microsoft kicking off bringing mass price hikes to property taxes & the like so we reorganized to
Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we find ourselves today. But KFK can’t perform
here as there isn’t any kind ov Deathrock or Goth scene here so Texylvania was
reformed with some local talent as our rhythm section in order to be able to
play live & have some fun. We auditioned almost every fking drummer here
but none can handle our song arrangements as they have many dynamics & some
are at a very fast tempo. So Texylvania has become what we call, “Rocket-fueled
PsychGaragePunkRock Hexxabilly”. The term, ‘Hexxabilly’ pertains to magical
elements placed inside our music to emote & provoke everyone whom
experiences Texylvania live. There’s more to this band’s story in detail but
perhaps you can interview Sherry Rubber sometime to hear more about it.

Texylvania, live in California, 2014

JVS:After a long period
when the Goth/Deathrock scene was dominated by dance music in recent years,
there seems to have been a big resurgence in the Deathrock scene all up the
west coast of America, while in the UK a lot of old Goth bands seem to be
reuniting. Why do you think this is happening now, and what are some of the new
bands you like?

PATRIK:I can only imagine that the reason or many reasons why
many ov the original UK Goth bands have reunited is because most ov today’s
bands & music plainly just sucks hard. A lot ov these bands were brilliant
which is why we are even discussing it right now. We need the originals such as
KFK & the UK OG goth bands as there are so many weak imitations out there
& out here regurgitating what has come before them without any sense ov originality
to their sound or image & without any respect towards bands like us. Some
ov our genre’s music is so fking incredible & as I’ve mentioned, so original
sounding that it is timeless. It is evocative. Beautiful. Passionate.

This is what is missing from a lot ov today’s version. As far as
bands that are releasing music today, I like Frozen Autumn, for their use ov
synthesizers & appropriately so, coldness. But I really don’t have much
time for listening to many ov the new bands in our genre as I am so fking
swamped with the new KFK lp & it’s remix companion lp. I am also in the
midst ov breaking in our new drummer, Christian Izzo, who is having to learn the
entire catalog ov both KFK & Texylvania for upcoming European,
Scandinavian, & Germany tours being scheduled for 2015. I am always in my
studio creating new trax or remixes for both bands. When I hear a new band that almost
stops my Heart, I’ll let you know….

JVS:All of KFK’s releases to date have had very different and
unique flavours. Now that we’re on the cusp of your fourth full length
release what should fans expect and when is it going to happen?

PATRIK:Sherry Rubber & I are still polishing up several new
trax for the upcoming new lp, “Thee Image & Thee Myth”. It will also have
its remix companion, “Derangements Ov…”. There is a remix companion to “La Santisima
Muerte” as well released in its original form at CD Baby just to get it out
there. I am looking for a very good understanding record label to license this
new lp & the previously mentioned lp for 2015 to coincide with our upcoming
tours. When creating new music I can’t help but to move forward searching for
new horizons, new directions, following my Muse into Thee Unknown. I luv it
there. When producing our new music we mix the trax for listening through
headphones for our fans to discover subliminal production techniques, among
other delicacies. Besides, having grown up with the ground breaking producers ov the 60s & 70s, I love
discovering that when listening to a record that such Magick resides insides
the grooves.

"FKing Death Dealerz" from the forthcoming album Thee Image and The Myth

Sherry Rubber in full flight on stage in Los Angeles, 2014

JVS:What lies in the
future for KFK?

PATRIK: We have signed with a management & booking company
in the UK, something that I’ve never ever had before where I had to do all ov
the booking myself, so they are booking KFK for 2015 where we will be touring throughout
Europe, Scandinavia, Germany, & other lovely regions that KFK have never
had the pleasure to. But I would really like to license our new lps to a very
great professional label in order to release our new music on vinyl. KFK has not released nothing on vinyl since 1983 & 1985! It’s
about time that we joined the new vinyl revival resurgence.

We have also a new drummer, Christian Izzo who we are breaking
in for our upcoming live performances. He is a seasoned drummer with much
touring experience. So far, so good. It feels good to have another professional
on our level ov experienced musicianship joining both bands as he will be performing
double duty. Stay tuned by visiting our official website.

"Dumb FK" from the forthcoming album Thee Image and the Myth

Thank you for your ongoing support. I hope that one day we can
tour throughout
Australia. It would be Magickal.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

It's been a long while in coming, but now we finally present to you the interview with March Violets front man Simon Denbigh.

JVS:
After six years since the Trinity EP and something like 28 years since the
Electric Shades album, how was it to be back in the studio again as a
functioning band?

Si:
Ha! More like a malfunctioning band. Not that we were fighting or throwing tantrums,
but The Violets are very rarely conventional, and the recording of this first
'proper' album, which took well over 2 years was fraught with all sorts of
tension and unforeseen happenings and just didn't happen in the normal way. We
are spread out all over and all doing other stuff, so everyone getting together
at the same time tends to be a rare occurrence. And of course you can plan as
much as you like but unexpected shit happens and then you have to try to get
back on track.

JVS:
What made you all want to get back together and do it all again?

Si:
I can't speak for the rest of the band. I think my motivation was solely to be
able to make some of the music that never got made, and say some things that
had been left unsaid. You have to understand that, certainly from my
perspective, the Violets never fulfilled their potential back in the eighties.
From my point of view, we imploded at the end of '84, due mainly to different
aspirations. The Violets were a rare thing, with Tom's amazing guitar work,
Rosie's fantastic voice, and my stumbling around in dark and twisted visions.
There was something unique, and in my head we were always teetering on the cusp
of becoming huge, or evaporating.

JVS:
Was there an underlying philosophy to recording Made Glorious and how has your
approach to making music changed since the 80s?

Si:
Interesting. Yes, I'd like to think there is some kind of underlying philosophy
at work, however haphazard. Yes, I specifically wanted to attempt to do a real
Album, one that works as an entity, one you can listen through from start to
finish and enjoy the journey. I have those albums that have meant something at
various points in my life, that I love exactly as they are. I don't want bonus
tracks or a different running order, they are exactly right. And that is the
target to aim for, it's a high bar, you'll have to decide if "Made
Glorious" does it for you...

JVS:
A lot of other artists I’ve spoken to from the early scene took considerable
umbrage at being referred to as “Goth”. Did The March Violets ever consider
themselves to be a part of that scene, and why do you feel so many of the
original artists were so keen to reject the Goth tag?

Si:
Hindsight, it's a weird thing. And history is a moveable feast. It's very easy
and only natural for people who weren't there at the time to get their
information from what is currently available. And over the years the tale has
changed, been rewritten both by people with new perspectives and those with
self-promoting agendas. And labels that were once laughed at, like
"Positive Punk", become historically accepted as though they had more
relevance than they did. I was asked to sign a book on 'Goth' the other day,
and yet the Violets had pretty much been ignored as a musical force. Yet if you
look at the 'Goth' record compilations over the last 25 years the Violets are
on well over 50 of them. So we were obviously important to some people and I
would never deny that part in history. However I would probably be happier to
go with Siouxsie and Peter Murphy et al and accept the term 'Gothic'. I think
'Goth' is more of a lifestyle choice, and, despite my mainly black wardrobe and
being in the Sisters of Mercy for 16 years, it's a label I haven't earned. Of
course, the rest of the Violets, who naturally all sleep in stereotypical
coffins, might disagree. It's not a topic that ever comes up. I'd say it's all
about enforced labelling. Imagine you had been happily and independently making
your own style of music for a couple of years and then someone sticks a label
on you… You are now "Blah" and being included in a 'Blah movement'
that maybe includes a few bands you like, and a whole pile of bands you think
are shit. Your natural urge, that which drove you to try and make different and
unique music, is to rebel against being put in a box. Put it another way: Let's
say some misguided but visible source declares your blog/magazine is now an
"Emoid" publication, and linked with 'Orkus', 'Gothik', 'Emo Weekly',
and 'Dark Fashion 4 US Teenz'. What would your initial reaction be? Denial?
That might just feed the flames. There is another obvious reason, for an active
band, the 'Goth' scene is actually quite small and restrictive. It is much
better to be a 'Rock' band, simply on the number of stages/people you can play
to. I sometimes see the shutters come down in people's eyes when the word Goth
(a diminutive) is applied. They are applying some presupposed stereotype,
probably missing most of the truth. That is mainly why many bands take umbrage
I think, and shaking the label, once it has been applied, is very hard. But the
bottom line is that I really don't care how people view the Violets, as long as
they DO view us, and nothing I say is going to un-tag us… if we are a Goth band
to you, so be it. Personally, I'd say the Violets are a pop band and have both
dark and light going on.

JVS: In between the
original March Violets and their current incarnation, you fronted a band called
Batfish Boys. Along with Bomb Party, Gaye Bikers on Acid, Crazyhead and
(arguably) Zodiac Mindwarp, this became an alternative genre known as “Grebo”
which seemed to disappear as swiftly as it began. What was the basic vibe of
that scene and why do you think was it such a “flash in the pan”?

Si:Once again, we are talking about 'scenes' created by
journalists. I had many chances with Batfish to jump on that bandwagon, ride it
to death, and become the featured 'grebo' band in whatever publication. And
once again, I immediately rebelled against assuming that mantle. I hate being
labelled. It's like someone who doesn't understand you telling you what you
are. If I was going to put a label on myself it would be Punk.

JVS: Like yourselves, a lot of the early bands from the
darker side of the post-punk scene seem to have recently reformed – Danse Society,
Skeletal Family and Actifed all come immediately to mind; Why do you think this
is suddenly happening now?

Si: Is it suddenly happening? Every Century has its
Reformation Period, seems that there has been a gradual movement amongst old
bands to get back together. Might be some kind of musical mid-life crisis. I'm
all for it if they are: 1. any good, and: 2. doing something new and original
and not just rehashing a formula. I will say that the difference live between
experienced bands and new ones is obvious. The years of stagecraft tend to
show. Of course you have to put up with old-looking artists, so if you can't
get past that stay at home and listen to records.

JVS: The March Violets have of course been doing a number of
live gigs recently and are booked as one of the major headlining acts for
Alt-Fest in 2014, which sounds especially exciting. How has the general
reception been, especially with younger followers of the dark-alt genre? Years
ago you commented to Mick Mercer about later Goth bands in the 80s “…but as
regards all this imagery, what do people think they’re doing? It’s hideous!!!”
In the light of that remark, how do you feel about the Goth scene in the new
millennium?

Si: We don't play very often, again, it's due to being
individually busy with other stuff, and several thousand miles apart. But we do
occasionally manage to come together to do some rare purple performances. They
will no doubt get rarer as we get older. And having just done a little UK tour
I have no real urge to do another anytime soon. Yes Alt-Fest is an exciting new
thing and I thought it was important to support it from the start. I think we
are down as playing on the 'Goth' stage on the Saturday, not headlining the
Main stage, though if the Album takes off you never know. Should be a great
festival, loads of stuff as well as some fab music. My remarks to Mick Mercer,
hmmm, I said a lot of things back then. But I'll stand by my attitude… I'm not
impressed by copies, rip-offs, or unoriginal style, 'Goth' or otherwise. You can
still refer to classic images and yet paint new pictures, both visual and
audio. And you might like to make a noise like the bands you like, but you need
to push it further. I'm lucky in that I made my noise back at the start so I
have the excuse that this IS MY style, but I still don't want to keep repeating
the same old stuff, I don't want to be a copy of me. Evolve or die.

Si:I like Berlin Black, The Witch Hunt, Partly Faithful,
Cold In Berlin, and a few other non 'Goth' bands.

JVS: When can the public expect to be able to lay their
eager little paws on a copy of Made Glorious?

Si: Well, we haven't done any deals with labels yet. We are
selling a few directly by mail order. The Limited First Edition double CD is
nearly all gone now. We might well press up another run without the bonus remix
disc… dunno, depends on whether we find a label… but I am in talks over doing a
double vinyl LP, which is kind of what the album was designed to be in my head.
We'll see, just think of all that lovely visual real estate!

JVS: What do you see lying in the future for The March
Violets and the dark-alt scene more generally?

Si: Not sure really, for the Violets I want to start playing
some other continents, South America would be lovely. We haven't done that much
in Europe, though I just confirmed we will be headlining Resurrection 2014 a
little do in Kaiserslautern in April. The 12th I think. And there is a lot of
material that didn't make the album, maybe some of that might slip out. As to
the dark-alt scene… well that's the problem isn't it, what do you actually call
it? Tricky. We need a brand new, all inclusive term, that sounds old, and isn't
hyphenated or a diminutive with stereotyped connotations. It's a job for you.
"Goth is dead, long live…..". Sort it out please.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

I awoke this morning to a quite surprising message out of the blue from one Mr Jamie Stewart"Hi James. I wanted to send you some promo pics of Ritual, since there aren't any elsewhere. It would be great if you could stick them on the page Thanks! J"
Why yes, Mr Stewart, we'd be delighted to oblige!No dates were provided with these, but common sense suggests they have to have been taken sometime between 1979 and certainly no later than '83.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Again, I must apologise that things have been so quiet around here lately. Rest assured that I haven't forgotten you, I've just been terribly busy trying to finish my thesis (And no, before anyone asks, it has absolutely nothing to do with music, let alone Goth.)In the meanwhile though, myself and the redoubtable Adam Lovkis (who hosts dark alt/noise/metal show Behind the Mirror on 6RTR fm) have started up this rather more interactive page on Face Book.Of course, you could just post music or video clips, but the key word here is "conversation", and we do sincerely hope that you will throw your two cents worth in.

A Welcome and Introduction

Plunder the Tombs was started by way of looking back on a musical past that I felt in sore need of curation.

What passes for “Goth” these days seems a pale imitator of what once was, and when contemporary DJs in Goth clubs do finally become brave enough to play something like Bauhaus only to have the dance floor clear, it becomes obvious that the memory of many of its current acolytes seems myopic at best.

I have taken the conceit of loosely viewing Goth as falling into three main waves; the first, mainly influenced by post-punk, the second primarily driven by hard rock and the third which seems to be mainly driven by dance music and owing much to EBM, future pop and aggrotech. Not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with this - all scenes must evolve or die.

Nevertheless, the apparent lack of memory (or perhaps lack of interest?) of the third wave Goth kids in the history of their scene impelled me to create this blog, looking back on the first wave of what became “Goth” & its American counterpart “Death Rock” from around 1979 till 1988.

If 1988 seems a little arbitrary as a point when the second-wave rock sound finally attained its dominance over post-punk’s waning influence, then consider that this was the year The Mission released the very rock-driven “Children”, Fields of the Nephilim gave us their eponymous album and just a year earlier The Sisters of Mercy had released the towering and triumphant Jim Steinman produced “Floodland”. It would seem like a neat book mark between epochs would it not?

Although it is only the first post-punk influenced wave that is of interest here, this blog is by necessity written in retrospect – after all, I was only nine when Bauhaus released “Bela Lugosi is Dead”, not to mention born in the wrong country, and I make no apologies for that - & much as I would have adored being there, to claim firsthand knowledge would be simply dishonest.

All that said, let us now examine what lies almost forgotten in the past from a unique and beautiful period of music as we explore what happened to Goth in a more inventive time. Before rules were consolidated, before every second band became a bad Sisters of Mercy or Fields of the Nephilim clone, before the Goth scene became more about fashion and dance music, and well, just before…

Let us plunder the tombs….

About Me

A DJ throughout the 90s at numerous Goth night clubs in Perth including The Cell, Dominion and others he was probably far too drunk to remember, largely as a result of his preference to work for bar tabs over cash. Also helped found 6RTR fm's Goth & Industrial showcase Darkwings.
Rumour has it he once masterminded an ill-advised Goth fanzine "Small Pleasures" that in retrospect, he remains profoundly grateful never made it off his desk.